WOBURN — Winchester is partying like it’s 1990.
The Red and Black fought through injuries and cold weather to secure a 28-14 Thanksgiving Day victory over Woburn that helped them capture their first outright Middlesex Liberty title since 1990.
“These kids are awesome,” Winchester head coach Wally Dembowski said. “The last two years we were one game short of winning it so this year we wanted to get it done. They worked their tails off to get to this point, I am super proud of them.”
Winchester (11-1) entered the matchup without the services of star running back Gianni DePrimeo and Harvard-bound linebacker Bryan Harrison due to injuries suffered in the team’s Div. 2 semifinal loss to Catholic Memorial.
“Getting here to this game with people who could suit up was an interesting conundrum,” Dembowski said. “We really couldn’t practice hard all week; we were so banged up from the game before. I think we put pads on for only one day and tried to get some stuff done. We didn’t know what to expect today.”
The Tanners started with possession, but it only took two plays before Winchester defensive back Will Bolognese broke through with an interception that set the Red and Black up at midfield.
Winchester capitalized quickly, with quarterback Ronan O’Connell firing a deep pass that Ted Budreski caught and took for a 44-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring.
Woburn was forced to punt on its next possession but pinned Winchester back at its own three-yard line. With DePrimeo out, senior Nick Rotondi stepped into the running back role and was able to will the Red and Black out of danger with several key runs.
“My mindset was to keep pushing,” Rotondi said. “They are a tough team, they hit hard. With Gianni going down, I knew I had to step up, and it wasn’t a big deal for me. I was ready.”
Winchester doubled the lead when O’Connell floated a pass to Budreski for a 68-yard touchdown.
“Ted is such a great athlete,” O’Connell said. “He always knows which way to go. If he’s going outside or inside, he’s always in that open window. If it’s a one-on-one situation, I’m always picking Ted over the contender.”
Woburn would finally sustain a long drive that was capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by Tom Kineavy. This would be all of the scoring by halftime although Winchester did advance deep into Tanner territory in the waning moments.
The Red and Black started with possession in the second half and O’Connell would connect with Budreski for a third time to extend the lead to 21-7. Woburn responded with a 50-yard touchdown connection between Aidan Wood and Gavin Driscoll to cut the deficit to 21-14.
Rotondi led the next drive and brought Winchester into the red zone before O’Connell hit Budreski for the fourth and final touchdown connection of their careers.
“There are no problems with our team, we are so together,” O’Connell said. “We deserve this because we have worked so hard throughout the season. This feels amazing.
While this is the end of the road for this historic Winchester team, Dembowski said the impact of this group on the town has put the program in a strong place for the future.
“11 wins has only happened two times in school history,” Dembowski said. “We didn’t get to the Super Bowl, but 11 wins is 11 wins. This is a fantastic group of young men.”
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